‘Operation Clean-Up’ Restores Hope at Lethe Primary After Hurricane Melissa

For months, the Infant Department of Lethe Primary and Infant School in Hanover remained silent, its chairs caked in dried mud, books, equipment and damaged or destroyed, and floors buried under silt after the Great River overflowed its banks during Hurricane Melissa last October.

Floodwaters rose nearly to the top of the building, leaving behind a thick layer of mud that coated everything inside.

However, hope returned on Thursday, February 19, as volunteers arrived armed with mops, brushes, shovels, clean water, detergent, and more—determined to restore the school and bring life back to its 45 displaced students.

Guided by the theme: ‘Little Hands, Big Help, Bright Futures’, a joint team from the St. James Police Division’s Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB) and the Spot Valley High School Police Youth Club (PYC) launched ‘Operation Clean-Up’ at the Hanover institution.

On the day, 12 members of the Youth Club, supported by two coordinators and officers from the CSSB, rolled up their sleeves to take on the task.

This hands-on initiative focused on restoring the infant department, ensuring that its four- and five-year-old students could finally return to their classrooms.

The idea for the outreach was sparked when Police Constable, Claythia Edie, a trained School Resource Officer (SRO) attached to the Montego Bay Police Station, visited the school and observed that the entire infant section had been sitting idle.

“When we inquired why, we were told that it was damaged due to Hurricane Melissa. So we did a tour and we decided, as a CSSB team… that we were going to come in and do some cleaning up in partnership with the Spot Valley High School PYC,” she explained.

The exercise involved removing the heavy mud that had settled inside the building, and thoroughly cleaning the chairs, desks, windows, and floors.

For Constable Edie, the initiative was never just about cleaning. She viewed it as a meaningful lesson in civic duty for the young volunteers as well as a chance to make a difference in nation-building, adding “this is only the beginning.”

For President of the Spot Valley High School PYC, Kimsue Miller, showing up meant far more than wielding mops and buckets.

She and her fellow teen volunteers wanted to send a message to the younger students—that no obstacle is insurmountable and that they are never alone.

For the PYC members, the sight of students returning to a freshly cleaned classroom was motivation enough, a reminder that their efforts carried both practical impact and deeper meaning.

Kimsue was clear about what the day represented for Jamaica as a whole: young people choosing community over comfort.

To her, it was living proof that hope for the country remains vibrant, especially through the Police Youth Club, whose members meet every Tuesday at Spot Valley High School.

Principal of Lethe Primary, Allison McGee, described the support as both timely and uplifting.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, the 45 infant students were displaced and merged into the primary department, which already accommodated 90 children.

This forced administrators to reshuffle classes and relocate grades to create space. While adjustments were made to ensure learning continued, the arrangements were far from ideal, making the assistance all the more critical.

“It’s not conducive. But we had to make adjustments that we saw necessary so that our students can get the education that they so deserve,” Ms. McGee underscored.

Despite the scale of the loss and the school’s pressing needs—including a perimeter fence and classroom manipulatives—the Principal expressed profound gratitude for the assistance offered and the willingness of community members to join the effort as well.